Byline dispute at Hudson Register-Star leads to one firing, three resignations

HUDSON, N.Y. -- A reporter's decision to remove his byline from a story in a Columbia County newspaper led to his firing, the resignation of three of his colleagues and a statement from his former publisher calling the reporter's news judgment into question.

Tom Casey was fired from the Register-Star of Hudson on Nov. 9, the day after he asked for his byline to be removed from a story. The story largely dealt with the city of Hudson's budget for the coming year, which was presented during a Common Council meeting on Nov. 8. What led to the byline removal, Casey said, was an editor's directive to insert two paragraphs about city Alderman John Friedman not standing for the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the meeting.

"This was the first time I'd ever asked to have my byline off a story," Casey, 24, said on Monday. He said he asked to remove his byline because he was uncomfortable having the paragraphs about Friedman included in a story that was primarily about the budget. Casey said Friedman remaining seated had not disrupted the meeting beyond provoking some murmuring from the audience. To include the paragraphs about the pledge, he thought, was sensationalizing the matter.

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Friedman previously had not stood for the pledge, which had been discussed in the Register-Star newsroom, Casey said. He said Executive Editor Theresa Hyland later told him to write about the situation the next time it occurred, which was Nov. 8.

The day after his story ran without a byline, Casey said he worked a normal day and filed three stories for the paper. At the end of the day, he was taken aside by Hyland and fired, he said. Casey said the only reason he was given for being fired was the lack of a byline on the Hudson story.

Casey said he and Hyland had gotten into a conversation about whether the Friedman situation was newsworthy but that she said his firing was because of the byline.

The situation involving Casey's firing first was reported in a blog by Sam Pratt, who lives in Columbia County. The story spread from there to a blog by Jim Romenesko and coverage in the Columbia Journalism Review, among other publications.

"I thought it was a fair request to have my byline taken off," Casey said. He said he had never had any problems at work prior to that incident and always tried to do his best for the paper. Casey said he was shocked at being fired.

A few days after Casey's firing, seven of his colleagues from the Hudson-Catskill Newspapers, the Register-Star and the Chatham Courier signed a letter asking Publisher Roger Coleman and Hyland to reinstate him. The letter stated, in part, that Casey stood up for the integrity of his work.

"As journalists, we are watchdogs but can never be part of the story," the letter stated. "Because no public outcry had occurred to date over Alderman John Friedman's decision not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, there was no reason to include this in the story. Adding an unrelated paragraph without context at the end of a story looks questionable to readers and gives the appearance of bias." The letter asked for a meeting to discuss the situation.

Of the individuals who signed that letter, Register-Star City Editor Francesca Olsen, Register-Star reporter Billy Shannon and Chatham-Courier reporter Adam Shanks have since resigned.

Olsen, 26, said she was called into a meeting on Nov. 14 with Coleman and Hyland in which she was asked who wrote the letter. She said everyone who signed the letter had input about its content. Olsen said she told her bosses she is a member of the paper's management and enjoys her job but had to stand with her staff. She said she told Coleman she was not standing against her bosses but that he kept asking if she was resigning. When it became clear he was trying to get her to resign, Olsen said, she did so.

Two or three hours later, Shannon and Shanks also resigned, Olsen said.

"It's incredibly unnerving, as a writer, to see your colleague get fired for something you would have done," said Shanks, 22. He said there are ethical implications to having a reporter insert paragraphs into a story that are unrelated to the focus of that story. Shanks said if the pledge matter warranted coverage, it could have been handled in a separate article.

Casey said writing a separate story on the pledge issue never came up in discussions with his former bosses. He said he felt that would have been a better way to address the situation.

On Nov. 16, Coleman and Hyland published a statement on the Register-Star website. In that statement, the two questioned why a journalist would not want to report an alderman not standing for the pledge.

"The repeated refusal and support of that refusal to report this story uncovered a lack of news judgment in our newsroom," the statement said. "Editors give assignments and provide direction to reporters all the time, in newsrooms across the globe." The statement said no one was fired for disagreeing with their supervisor but that they had been asked to do their job and report the news.

Coleman and Hyland did not respond to calls for additional comment.

Olsen also said she noticed Hyland had written an editorial about Friedman not standing for the pledge the Monday before the Common Council meeting had taken place. She said that editorial had not yet run.